Full Body Burden: Growing Up in the Nuclear Shadow of Rocky Flats

Relevance.

Yes.

If you live near ANY government facility that is surrounded by a fence, this is a MUST-read. If you live near any of the government facilities that are discussed - by name, this is an actionable-read.

Two criticisms:
1. The audio quality of the first 45 minutes (...or so) is sub-standard. Don't be discouraged by this: keep listening.
2. The ending could have included more detail about the blitzkrieg-cleanup of the buildings and soil.

P.S. The local-alternative newspaper she mentions is named Westword. It has a web site where archival issues can be viewed. About 10 years ago, they did an investigative series on Rocky Flats that is thorough and provides supporting data/viewpoints to Ms. Iversen's material

I liked the investigative journalism aspects and her "primary" source experiences in and around Rocky Flats. I found the government coverup disconcerting to say to least and I was appalled at the apparent lack of compassion and understanding the government displayed with respect to the numerous cancer and other radiological illnesses that occurred as a result of Rocky Flats.

The coverup

I recently got an electric car, so having a quiet vehicle on my way to work really allows me to enjoy audio books. Before this, the drumming of the engine would make listening difficult, but now, it's crystal clear and I think enhanced the experience.

The only issue I have is I would have loved for her to dive deeper into the fires that happened at Rocky Flats. What did they do to clean up these problems, and what happened to all those men who fought those fires. I would have liked to know more about her Father and his drinking and maybe some background on what may have caused his alcoholism, that would have been something I would have enjoyed learning more about.

Full Body Burden is a haunting work of narrative nonfiction about a young woman, Kristen Iversen, growing up in a small Colorado town close to Rocky Flats,
a secret nuclear weapons plant once designated "the most contaminated site in America." It's the story of a childhood and adolescence in the shadow of
the Cold War, in a landscape at once startlingly beautiful and - unknown to those who lived there - tainted with invisible yet deadly particles of plutonium.
It's also a book about the destructive power of secrets - both family and government. Her father's hidden liquor bottles, the strange cancers in children
in the neighborhood, the truth about what was made at Rocky Flats- best not to inquire too deeply into any of it. But as Iversen grew older, she began to ask questions. She learned about the infamous 1969 Mother's Day fire, in which a few scraps of plutonium spontaneously ignited and - despite the desperate efforts of firefighters - came perilously close to a "criticality", the deadly blue flash that signals a nuclear chain
reaction. Intense heat and radiation almost melted the roof, which nearly resulted in an explosion that would have had devastating consequences for the
entire Denver metro area. Yet the only mention of the fire was on page 28 of the Rocky Mountain News, underneath a photo of the Pet of the Week. In her
early thirties, Iversen even worked at Rocky Flats for a time, typing up memos in which accidents were always called "incidents". And as this memoir unfolds,
it reveals itself as a brilliant work of investigative journalism - a detailed and shocking account of the government's sustained attempt to conceal the
effects of the toxic and radioactive waste released by Rocky Flats, and of local residents' vain attempts to seek justice in court. Here, too, are vivid
portraits of former Rocky Flats workers - from the healthy, who regard their work at the plant with pride, the best wages around, and a denial of the safety risks. This book ends with a poem about nuclear bombs by Allen Ginsburg. Very good and very hard to read.

The way she wove her life's story with the events elsewhere (elsewhere being literally down the road) at Rocky Flats.

The occasions when her father was trying to have a well dug and they were continually unable to succeed.

That the author was able to convince how you clueless the neighbors (and ultimately most-affected) were by the ongoings at Rocky Flats.

Didn't exactly like the way the story was "wrapped up."

How much do you trust your government?

I have listened to Full Body Burden several times. Each time I relate and tie more facts to other books, such as Area 51.

The story was methodical and easy to follow considering all the details.

I have listened to every non-fiction book available by Kirsten Potter. Her voice has a soothing vibration which makes for easy listening. The tone of her voice keeps my interest. She speaks at a rate of speed that is easy to follow with clear enunciation. Kirsten has done a fabulous job of fine tuning her skills.

Once again I felt deep betrayal by the government with a resentment toward the Department of Energy. I feel sad for all of those effected by the officials lying and withholding vital information. The DOE is stealing taxpayers money to create dangerous materials that are no longer necessary because of the immense quantities of manufactured plutonium.

I applaud Kristen Iversen for recording the events throughout her life, then writing such tell it all book.

Kristen Iversen gives an intensely personal story of growing up next to Rocky Flats, a factory that made fusion bomb triggers and living with plutonium pollution. Iversen makes a great case that Rocky Flats is America's Chernobly catastrophe that was covered up by the U.S. government.

I found Full Body Burden equal to The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot, and The Warmth of Other Suns by Isabel Wilkerson.